Nine Lives to Die
Page 21
“And the fingers?” Cooper quietly asked.
Arden grimaced for a moment, inhaled. “Hypocrisy. Tyler had a sense of symbolism. He thought they were both hypocrites, pretending to be good Catholics while being constantly on his back. At this point, my son hates the Church. He hates everybody.”
“Even you?” Cooper looked into her eyes.
“Depends on the day.” Arden’s tears spilled down her cheeks.
Harry, Fair, Cooper, Mrs. Murphy, Pewter, and Tucker gathered in the kitchen at noon on Saturday. Everyone had had a good night’s sleep, and Harry made lunch.
“I’ve spent a lot of time just lately at your kitchen table,” Cooper said. “I owe you a lot of dinners.”
“You don’t owe me a thing.”
“I am sorry I didn’t see it coming with Arden. Out of the blue, she tells all. Now that I know her story, I suppose yesterday was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
“Poor camel,” Tucker commiserated.
“It’s just a saying!” Pewter sniffed.
Cooper told them why Pete and Lou were killed. She also knew the tiny mark on the headrest of the Explorer had to have been residue of the KCl. The lab work, slow again, wasn’t back on that, but she knew it. Adolescence is such a volatile time. Not that Cooper thought every pressured, angry kid is a potential murderer, but one has less mastery of one’s emotions then, and killing turns a boy into the alpha dog, at least for a time.
“It’s a dreadful story,” said Fair. “Does Father O’Connor know?”
“Not yet. We will meet with him, Social Services, a psychologist in the area who specializes in this stuff early tomorrow. Arden will be released, but she can’t say anything without jeopardizing her case because she really is an accessory to murder.”
“Which brings up Flo.” Harry’s tone brightened.
“She’s got a good lawyer. I think she’ll be okay. I hope so.” Cooper smiled.
“Me, too,” both Harry and Fair said simultaneously, then hooked index fingers, done when two people say the same thing at the same time.
“Cletus was waiting there when she was released. I had the magistrate call him.” Cooper smiled even bigger. “And he had The Terminator and Buster in his truck, as well as an old Navy duffel bag with some clothes. He took Flo home. I think he intends to stay there with her.”
Harry smiled, too. “At last, some good news.”
That night, the animals waited for Odin. The stars were bright, the night clear and therefore cold. They’d dragged out all the remains of the lunch, as well as some dog biscuits that Tucker was willing to give up.
Odin arrived and dug in. Mrs. Murphy told him from the loft above, “Thanks to you, Odin, two old people have made a home together, warmer than what they have apart. And two little dogs have a home, too. You’ve done a good deed.”
“I didn’t do anything.” Full, the coyote sat down.
“The bracelet that fell off the arm bone, that was what started it.” Pewter then told the whole story.
“Come on down, we can celebrate.” Odin grinned up at them. “And don’t worry. I won’t eat you. Anyway, isn’t it true that cats have nine lives?”
“Why lose the first one to find out?” Mrs. Murphy laughed and didn’t budge.
Dear Reader,
A dog. Sneaky Pie has dedicated this book to a dog. Too much catnip.
First off, the novel should be dedicated to me. I am the driving force. More to the point, I’m a cat.
And what’s this about a human being beautifully trained. Is this human housebroken?
For future reference, just know all the great ideas come from me, me, me. Plus I would never dedicate anything to a dog.
Yours,
Dear Reader,
Pewter is insufferable.
The driving force of these mysteries? Ha. She’s been sitting on her fat butt for years.
Yours in truth,
Dear Reader,
Finally a dog gets her due. Sneaky’s right to dedicate this book to a dog. Where would humans be without dogs? Lost, miserable, and so lonely. For that matter, a lot of cats would be lonely, too. Many dogs are best friends to cats, not that any creature could be a best friend to the Queen of Ego, Pewter.
As to Gracie, she has a fetching wardrobe and is very stylish. Naturally, good clothes hang better on a Yorkie than a corgi but still she wears a pretty blue coat. You’d have to put a tent on Pewter. That’s the real reason she’s fussing.
I remain, as always, yours and the only reasonable creature in this bunch,
Dedicated with admiration
to
Gracie, a Yorkshire Terrier
living in Cape Town, South Africa.
She has her human beautifully trained.
Books by Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie Brown
WISH YOU WERE HERE • REST IN PIECES • MURDER AT MONTICELLO • PAY DIRT • MURDER, SHE MEOWED • MURDER ON THE PROWL • CAT ON THE SCENT • SNEAKY PIE’S • COOKBOOK FOR MYSTERY • LOVERS PAWING THROUGH THE PAST • CLAWS AND EFFECT • CATCH AS CAT • CAN THE TAIL OF THE TIP-OFF • WHISKER OF EVIL • CAT’S EYEWITNESS • SOUR PUSS • PUSS ’N CAHOOTS • THE PURRFECT MURDER • SANTA CLAWED • CAT OF THE CENTURY • HISS OF DEATH • THE BIG CAT NAP • SNEAKY PIE FOR PRESIDENT • THE LITTER OF THE LAW • NINE LIVES TO DIE
Books by Rita Mae Brown featuring “Sister” Jane Arnold
OUTFOXED • HOTSPUR • FULL CRY • THE HUNT BALL • THE HOUNDS AND THE FURY • THE TELL-TALE HORSE • HOUNDED TO DEATH • FOX TRACKS
The Mags Rogers Books
MURDER UNLEASHED • A NOSE FOR JUSTICE
Books by Rita Mae Brown
ANIMAL MAGNETISM: MY LIFE WITH CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL • THE HAND THAT CRADLES THE ROCK • SONGS TO A HANDSOME WOMAN • THE PLAIN BROWN RAPPER • RUBYFRUIT JUNGLE • IN HER DAY SIX OF ONE • SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT • SUDDEN DEATH • HIGH HEARTS STARTED FROM SCRATCH: A DIFFERENT KIND OF WRITER’S MANUAL BINGO • VENUS ENVY
DOLLEY: A NOVEL OF DOLLEY MADISON IN LOVE AND WAR RIDING SHOTGUN • RITA WILL: MEMOIR OF A LITERARY RABBLE-ROUSER LOOSE LIPS • ALMA MATER • SAND CASTLE
About the Authors
RITA MAE BROWN has written many bestsellers and received two Emmy nominations. In addition to the Mrs. Murphy series, she has authored A Nose for Justice and Murder Unleashed, the first two mysteries in a new dog series, and the Sister Jane foxhunting series, as well as many other acclaimed books. She and Sneaky Pie live with several other rescued animals.
SNEAKY PIE BROWN, a tiger cat rescue, has written many mysteries—witness the list at the front of this novel. Having to share credit with the above-named human is a small irritant, but she manages it. Anything is better than typing, which is what “Big Brown” does for the series. Sneaky calls her human that name behind her back after the wonderful Thoroughbred racehorse. As her human is rather small, it brings giggles among the other animals. Sneaky’s main character—Mrs. Murphy, a tiger cat—is a bit sweeter than Miss Pie, who can be caustic.